Attempts by the Russian military to hack the U.S. presidential election were directed at a company based in Tallahassee that serviced Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, according to published reports and local election officials.

Revelations that Russian hackers targeted VR Systems, a company founded in the capital city 25 years ago, were included in leaked, classified National Security Agency documents first reported by The Intercept and later picked up by media outlets including the New York Times and USA TODAY.

The company provides election-related software to most of Florida’s 67 supervisor of elections offices, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

The Florida Department of State said it saw no security breaches during the most recent election cycle. The state’s online elections databases and voting systems remained secure throughout 2016, said Sarah Revell, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner.

“We have multiple safeguards in place to protect against election fraud and prevent any possible hacking attempts from being successful,” she wrote in an email.

“The threats are real. These are nation-state level threats.”

Mark Earley, Leon County Supervisor of Elections

David Stafford, supervisor of elections in Escambia County, said the uses VR Systems to interface with the Florida Voter Registration System and uses VR System for an electronic poll book, known as EViDs.

“My experience over the years is that VR Systems is a highly capable company with a proven track record here in Florida,” Stafford said. “Security is an increasingly important concern for anyone dealing with information technology, and I’m very confident in VR’s commitment to helping provide us the tools to do our job in the most effective and secure means possible.”

But news of the cyberattack is prompting some elections supervisors around the state to redouble their safeguards against hacking.

Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said that while his staff is well trained in security matters, he is considering hiring an outside consultant to make sure the office is adhering to the latest and best practices. He said the cyberattacks underscore the need for "nonstop vigilance and professionalism.”

"This is not a game," he said. "The threats are real. These are nation-state level threats. And our efforts to ensure that elections have paper trails and verifiable and transparent audit systems in place are very important."

Dana Perkins of Shreveport, La. waves a flag on the National Mall during the inauguration,Friday January 20, 2017. Perkins said, "I came to see my new president, I'm so proud!" Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com, NorthJersey.com

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Andrew Harnik, AP

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden with former President Jimmy Carter are applauded as they go to their seats as they were introduced before Donald Trump was sworn in as president. Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com

David Violanti 19 and his girlfriend, Samantha Metzger 18, share a kiss in the National Mall, Friday January 20, 2017. The couple resides in Buffalo, NY but Metzger goes to school in Washington D.C. Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com, NorthJersey.com

Kyle Johnson, of Union, stopped in for lunch but was not interested in watching the small television showing the inauguration of Donald Trump at the Englewood Diner Friday, January 20, 2017. Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

Ashley, a waitress at the diner walks past a small television showed the inauguration of Donald Trump, but no one was watching at the Englewood Diner Friday, January 20, 2017. Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Patrick Semansky, AP

President Donald Trump delivers his inaugural address after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Patrick Semansky, AP

President Donald Trump waves after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Patrick Semansky, AP

President Donald Trump pumps his fist after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Andrew Harnik, AP

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump looks on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Matt Rourke, AP

Donald Trump shakes hands with Chief Justice John Roberts after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States on during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Patrick Semansky, AP

Vice President Mike Pence is sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas as this wife Karen holds the bible during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Andrew Harnik, AP

Director of Strategic Communications Hope Hicks, Senior Counselor Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway arrive on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Washington, for the inauguration ceremony of Donald J. Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Win McNamee, AP

President Barack Obama greets Former President Bill Clinton before the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. Right is Vice President Joe Biden. Matt Rourke, AP

People walk by the intersection of 18th St. and F St., Northwest with barricades closing the streets of vehicle traffic in the background January 20, 2017. Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com, NorthJersey.com

A Trump supporter takes a picture with a cardboard cut-out of the President-elect during the Garden State Presidential Inaugural Gala took place at the Washington Court hotel on Thursday, January 19, 2017. Danielle Parhizkaran/Northjersey.com

Redacted versions of the NSA documents, published Monday afternoon, shielded the identity of the company targeted by the Russians. But the same documents included references to VR Systems. According to published reports, the NSA documents and Tallahassee Democrat interviews, Russian hackers in August executed a spear-phishing campaign targeting seven employees of the company.

The NSA report said it was likely that at least one of the accounts was compromised through phishing, an operation in which hackers try to lure people into opening harmless looking email attachments that contain malicious programs.

Information taken in the attack — perhaps including email contacts of VR Systems’ clients — was likely used to launch a subsequent hacking operation in the fall, when Russian hackers reportedly sent a malicious email from an account called “vr.elections@gmail.com” to up to 122 local government offices.

The NSA report said it was unknown whether the second attack, which happened Oct. 31 or Nov. 1, was successful. However, Mindy Perkins, CEO of VR Systems, said in a statement sent Monday night to its clients that there is no sign the intended victims were compromised.

“When a customer alerted us to an obviously fraudulent email purporting to come from VR Systems, we immediately notified all our customers and advised them not to click on the attachment,” said CEO Mindy Perkins. “We are only aware of a handful of our customers who actually received the fraudulent email and of those, we have no indication that any of them clicked on the attachment or were compromised as a result.”

Earley said his office did not receive any of the phishing emails, which he said contained broken English and were obvious fakes. However, at least one Florida elections office, in Clay County, got one of the phishing emails.

Chris Chambless, Clay County’s supervisor of elections, said his office’s virus detection software isolated the malicious email before it was picked up by a server. He noted his office is subjected to numerous hacking attempts on a daily basis.

“We told VR we received the email and it was quarantined,” he said. “This really isn’t uncommon, and most (supervisors) don’t even know if they were ever sent it.”

Chambless, who serves as president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, dismissed any notion that the 2016 election was impacted by the VR Systems breach.

“I say balderdash,” he said. “This type of concern, while it makes for good headlines, is not an issue with any of the supervisors of elections in Florida or across the country.”

Secretary of State Detzner’s staff took part in a Sept. 30 conference call about elections security with the FBI and a number of supervisors of elections, including Leon County’s then-Supervisor Ion Sancho.

An official who was on that call said at the time a “malicious” incident that occurred in Florida was discussed, but no election systems had been hacked. Sancho said at the time he was not aware of any vulnerability to the state, but he noted that additional security steps would be taken.

The State Department conducts quarterly cybersecurity risk assessments. Reports from those assessments are saved and shared with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as needed.

David and Jane Watson of Tallahassee started VR Systems in 1992. It was founded in part to help the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office move its voter registration data from the county’s mainframe to a custom-made system, Earley said. It sold its first system to Leon County the following year.

The company created and patented an electronic poll book system designed to replace old paper systems at polling locations and speed up voter check-ins. The Electronic Voter Identification system, known as EViD, is in use in more than 50 Florida counties, including Leon, Broward and Miami-Dade. The company, which became employee-owned in 2010, serves clients in more than a dozen states.

Over 2014 and 2015, the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office spent $711,000 to purchase nearly 330 electronic poll books from VR Systems. The office also has annual contracts with the firm totaling about $105,000.

Last year, during the Aug. 30 election night, a clerical error at VR Systems’ office in Tallahassee caused erratic and incorrect results to be posted online in several Florida counties, including Leon and Broward.

But Earley said the firm is widely respected and has been proactive in solving any unexpected problems that arise.

“VR Systems is a very highly regarded outfit that has grown up as a company deeply rooted in the elections world,” Earley said in an email. “They understand the high importance of security in the elections environment, and I believe they have been good stewards of the trust the elections community has placed in them.”

The company did not make itself available for questions. In a statement to clients and the media, it noted that none of its products involve ballot marking or tabulation.

“We regularly participate in cyber alliances with state officials and members of the law enforcement community in an effort to address these types of threats,” CEO Perkins said. “We have policies and procedures in effect to protect our customers and our company.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.